Asian Amercian Theatre has been in circulation for over a century throughout the country. However, due to the social and cultural aspects of the Asian American community that the theatre advocates and displays, the works of Asian Americans have remained relatively excluded from mainstream popularity and stunted the growth and progress of the movement. Many original pieces considered in the tradition of Asian Theatre began touring around the United States after crossing over from China in the mid-1800s when acrobatic troupes, traditional operas, and puppet shows performed in various venues and settings. It was during this time that the Asian-Exclusion Act was passed in an attempt to dispell immigration into America by Chinese and other Asian immigrants. Due to this barring of Asian Immigrants, many Asian Americans moved to other regions in order to avoid a lot of racial violence that began to ensue. These different acts began experiencing massive setbacks in the 1970s when many American's turned anti-Chinese during the economic recession of the Carter Administration. In addition, a plethora of other causes, including varying opinions of show business, language barriers, and differences between Western and Eastern drama and theatre, drew many Asian Americans out of the theatre. However, as the years progressed and more and more Asian Americans began populating the country, the group of minorities and marginalized people has refused to stay silent and invisible making their voices heard in different aspects of politics, theatre, literature, pop culture, and entertainment. While many people choose to continue to look down upon and downplay the role of many Asian American theatre troupes, their continued impact on the work and culture of the American theatre remains critical and a focal voice of an entire group of minority voices.
Asian Amercian Theatre has been in circulation for over a century throughout the country. However, due to the social and cultural aspects of the Asian American community that the theatre advocates and displays, the works of Asian Americans have remained relatively excluded from mainstream popularity and stunted the growth and progress of the movement. Many original pieces considered in the tradition of Asian Theatre began touring around the United States after crossing over from China in the mid-1800s when acrobatic troupes, traditional operas, and puppet shows performed in various venues and settings. It was during this time that the Asian-Exclusion Act was passed in an attempt to dispell immigration into America by Chinese and other Asian immigrants. Due to this barring of Asian Immigrants, many Asian Americans moved to other regions in order to avoid a lot of racial violence that began to ensue. These different acts began experiencing massive setbacks in the 1970s when many American's turned anti-Chinese during the economic recession of the Carter Administration. In addition, a plethora of other causes, including varying opinions of show business, language barriers, and differences between Western and Eastern drama and theatre, drew many Asian Americans out of the theatre. However, as the years progressed and more and more Asian Americans began populating the country, the group of minorities and marginalized people has refused to stay silent and invisible making their voices heard in different aspects of politics, theatre, literature, pop culture, and entertainment. While many people choose to continue to look down upon and downplay the role of many Asian American theatre troupes, their continued impact on the work and culture of the American theatre remains critical and a focal voice of an entire group of minority voices.